"We want to reduce the time needed to develop major titles from the usual three-to-four years to only two and a half years," Capcom CEO Kenzo Tsujimoto told investors.

"Speeding up development will probably raise the cost. But creating quality content will be vital to Capcom's ability to survive by overcoming intense global competition."

Upcoming Capcom release Lost Planet 3 falls into the two-and-a-half-year remit, Resident Evil 6 arrives three and a half years after its predecessor, while DmC: Devil May Cry launches five years after Devil May Cry 4.

DmC: Devil May Cry's lengthy absence is attributed to the decision to switch to external developers, explained COO Haruhiro Tsujimoto.

"But our goal is to reduce the cycle to two and a half years for subsequent titles in this series," he added.

Earlier this week, it was revealed that DmC: Devil May Cry had been pushed back to 2013.